The invention relates to a unit carrier for fitting into a door structure of a motor vehicle door.
Functional components of a motor vehicle door, such as for example a window lifter, a lock subassembly, an airbag module, a speaker and the like, may be premounted on such a unit carrier, so that the unit carrier together with the functional components premounted thereon may be fitted as a complete, and possibly pretested, door module into the door structure.
The door structure which is provided for fitting the unit carrier may comprise, for example, a door inner skin with a large-surface cutout which is overlapped by the unit carrier in the fitted state. The unit carrier thus bears with its one surface on the door structure side along the edge of the large-surface cutout against the door structure, more specifically the door inner skin, and is fixed via fastening elements, which protrude from the surface of the unit carrier on the door structure side and engage in associated fastening points of the door structure, i.e. in particular in fastening points on the edge of the large-surface cutout of a door inner skin. The unit carrier is secured thereby to the door structure.
To this end, it is known to overlap mutually associated fastening points on the unit carrier, on the one hand, and on the door structure, on the other hand, and subsequently to connect the unit carrier at said fastening points to the door structure, namely by fastening screws which penetrate mutually associated fastening points on the unit carrier, on the one hand, and on the door structure, on the other hand. Moreover, clip elements or expanding elements, in particular in the form of plugs, may also be used as fastening elements.
Within the context of combining as many functional components as possible of a motor vehicle door, it is desirable to have already previously premounted on the unit carrier fastening elements which are used for fastening the unit carrier to the door structure, so that the unit carrier together with the fastening elements may be positioned on the door structure and the fastening means on the unit carrier side may be brought into engagement with fastening points on the door structure side.
In this connection, however, there is the problem that, when fitted into a motor vehicle door, a unit carrier generally may not simply be positioned on the door structure perpendicular to the door plane, but frequently a movement of the unit carrier is required along the door plane so that, when fitting the unit carrier, it is possible to transfer a lock subassembly premounted on the unit carrier into its operational position on the door structure.